Thursday, August 20, 2009

A woman driver had a hair-raising – not to mention car-raising - experience today when her vehicle got stuck on an opening drawbridge.

She stalled on the bridge at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, and was still stationary as the giant structure swung open to allow a ship through.

Thanks to a good set of brakes and decent tyres, her vehicle defied gravity and stayed put as the giant hinges yawned to a 45 degree angle.As the Maple-Oregon Bridge swung shut again, the uninjured woman restarted her engine and continued her journey safely across the water.

The incident happened about 6pm last Thursday.

But police didn’t learn about it until after local newspaper reporters began calling to confirm the authenticity of the photos they received.

Captain Arleigh Porter, of Sturgeon Bay Police Department, said: ‘At first we thought someone was just playing around with Photoshop. It really is amazing.’

She described the photo as being like scene one might be better expected to witness at a theme park.This car was rising, similar to a ride at Great America,’ – a massive park in California, she said.

‘Apparently the bridge tender noticed, lowered the bridge and after a short conversation she goes on her way.’

‘It appears to be human error,’ said Captain Porter, adding that she hoped the motorist will contact police.

‘She’s not in any trouble,’ she said. ‘We just want to talk to her and find out how this happened so we can make sure that it doesn’t happen again.

‘I want to ask her what was going through her mind and how hard she had that brake pushed down.’